All Hallow’s Eve in Naperville

Ever since Jay moved, I have been getting to know the Chicago suburbs.It is always fun to explore and discover something new. Most of you have probably never heard of Naperville, IL before but that was home base for this trip.I was really excited to see the musical Hamilton in Chicago and to decorate Jay’s house for Halloween.Those who know me are well aware of my love for all things Halloween.Every year I even beg friends to let me come over and pass out candy at their houses!

Since Oakland was about 80 degrees when I left, it was quite a shock to my system when I arrived and daytime temperatures hovered around the mid-40’s.I was a wimp and stayed in the house most of the time.But I didn’t let the cold and chilling wind stop me from venturing out for an hour to find a neighborhood cache I had been eyeing for the last year, GC4CV92 (Since 1893…Again).When I figured out this geocache involved possibly dining at a historic establishment, I was beside myself!The cache was placed to bring attention to Kreger’s Brat and Sausage Haus, established as a grocery store all the way back in 1893!

It is now mainly focused on selling hand made sausages which can also be grilled to order outside. Because Chicago is a football town, many of Kreger’s sausages are named after various NFL teams.For example, the Raider, is a sausage made of pork, Korean bbq sauce and seasonings.I will need to put that one on the list for my next visit.

It was bone chillingly cold to me.Thankfully, Jay loves me enough to brave the elements and grab the cache while I waited inside.In the world of geocaching, you can’t beat signing a log alongside a yummy habanero cheddar sausage.

Later that same day, we took the train to downtown Chicago for the show. If you ever get the chance, you must see a show at the CIBC Theatre. The interior is beautiful, just how I imagine the home to the Phantom of the Opera looks. And the show lived up to the hype. I loved every minute of it.

After spending the weekend shopping for scary decorations and carving two pumpkins, I was thrashed on Halloween.

So I spent the afternoon scarfing down a delicious taco plate for lunch at Los Burritos Tapatios, and then treated myself to a nice long service next door at Chinese Foot Massage.(Yes, that’s really the name of the place.)Note to self, don’t ever get another massage after eating a huge meal!

When I was done, I was really torn about crossing the street to grab a geocache placed less than 300 feet away.That’s how drained I was from the cold!I sucked it up just so I could write a more substantial blog.Haha!Now that’s dedication!However, I will confess that I actually got in the car and drove to GC5GCND (Even If Everything Is Obvious) because crossing the major thoroughfare meant I would have to walk to the end of the block to cross the street and I just couldn’t bear being outside that long!

Halloween was a lot of fun.So many kids had intricate and creative costumes that I wanted for myself.One of my favorites was a kid dressed as a donut while his dad wore a Dunkin’ Donuts sandwich board.Pretty funny!I was impressed that there were so many kids out in the cold.They were troopers!Just so you know, I am already collecting decorations for next year.I can’t wait!

Reviewing my finds – Goodies in or near Naperville
GC26C4 Al Capone is buried here
GC4R1TF Dr Who related with 186 faves
GC1B3 oldie Jan 2001
GCC4B Nice walking area with an oldie virtual and other hides
GC3QBGE Part of large Hummingbird Geo art series